I cant make up my mind...sheesh Neck question free-for-all

[KaiserSoze]

Gonna order a neck.  I have an  oil-finished mahogany rear-routed strat body, dual Fralin PAFs, Wilkinson trem, RS guitarworks vintage style wiring with one volume, one tone, and one pickup selector switch a-la PRS.  Going for 70s /Les Paul/Page/Allman sweetness.  

I realize its a Les Paul-o-Caster an may go with mahogany/rosewood but want to check with the experts first....umm thats you, so talk amongst yourselves and give suggestions for wood cominations.  Tone before beauty.  My concern is that without a maple cap, I may want to add a brighter wood like maple or ebony...maybe Pao Ferro? Whatcha think?

PS  I prefer to not do a finish on a neck, or at the most an oil finish.  Thanks .

Oh and and FYI...after building my first Warmoth, I can't seem to like any off-the-rack guitars,  Thanks a bunch.

 

[rockskate4x]

My first thought would be to do the goncalo/pau ferro combo, but I have never tried it myself.

 

[crash]

Goncalo alves / pau ferro was the first that came to mind here.  What about something like this http://www.warmoth.com/Showcase/ShowcaseNeck.aspx?i=sn10447&Body=1&Path=Neck

 

[AutoBat]

ebony is a fantastic fretboard wood, both on feel and look.  i like the streaky macassar variety, but some find it off putting.

 

[Tipperman]

Seems like everyone has been recommending the usual suspect....  :toothy12: Jokes aside, I would definitely recommend an ebony fretboard, stainless steel frets of course. As far as neck wood goes, Goncalo Alves or Padouk are both incredible. Another one that I really like is Purpleheart. Wenge neck with Ebony fretboard is also a great combo for a mahogany body.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Thanks gang.  This changed my thinking a bit so I'll investigate further.  My mahogany body is quite stripey and a transparent finish so I dont want to get too busy with woods/figures/colors, etc and make a wood mishmash-looking thing.  Goncalo is an interesting idea and an ebony board would be pretty clean looking.....hmmm...or the wenge idea is appealing too.

I know....Someone just mail me the neck they think is best.  I'd like a fatback, 24 3/4 , 12" radius, med. jumbo fret, warmoth neck with holes for Sperzels.  And if its not too much to ask, trapezoid inlays and a graphtec nut plz  Thanks Santa

 

[Tipperman]

For transparent I would say Goncalo/Ebony is the way to go. But if you don't want the extra warmth and don't mind waiting for it to brown up, Padouk will give you some nice brightness, and Wenge is just a whole 'nother animal. In a good way.

 

[bagman67]

Macassar ebony is PURTY:

 

[KaiserSoze]

Nice!  This is the body I am ordering a neck for.  Its got pretty busy grain patterns so I want to keep the neck fairly clean looking.  I like the no-inlays look too.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I vote for Wenge.  I personally have not experienced Goncalo, but going on what CB said a while back, it was not clear enough with his humbucker/p-90 tele.  However, the Goncalo was great with his ash tele.  I would also be tempted to go the brighter wood route because you can roll the brightness off with the tone knob if need be.  The Wenge does have quite a bit of presence, but I like that.  Also it is a muted color until you really look closely at it.  Finally, I find it the most fun to play of the raw wood necks that I have.
Patrick

 

[dNA]

i think the goncalo/pau ferro combo is probably the most aesthetically beautiful option (see below) and the unfinished raw wood feels great. FWIW, I have a Goncalo/Pau Ferro neck in my closet that I want to sell if you're interested. it'd be cheaper than showcase and it's pretty much mint

(minus the tuners, unless you want to buy them too)

 

[Tipperman]

I might be interested if he isn't. PM me what you're asking?

 

[dNA]

here's my listing
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=16116.0

 

[KaiserSoze]

:rock-on:Thats. A hot neck. I'd love to see that on a white strat.  Alas, my next neck will be very specific and not a compound radius.  I love the look of something simple on my mahogany beauty.  Goncalo with ebony perhaps...

 

[lafromla1]

An all canary neck would look good with a mahogany body.  It would have the characteristics of maple but not need a finish.

Also, mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard would sound nice.  The ebony would brighten it up some. 

Wenge/Ebony seems to be a hot combo lately (I have one and love it).

 

[dNA]

:rock-on:Thats. A hot neck. I'd love to see that on a white strat.  Alas, my next neck will be very specific and not a compound radius.  I love the look of something simple on my mahogany beauty.   Goncalo with ebony perhaps...

that would look nice on a vintage or olympic white strat.
actually, my friend who's visiting from NY for a month or two just installed that neck on his trans-red American Standard strat and it looks great. The only problem is that I only had gold tuners to fit and the gold just looks god-awful against the reddish brown of the goncalo alves. Gold only works with dark. *shaking head*

honestly, I would probably say to just go with a comparable colored mahogany neck with an ebony board. I with a body of that finish without a PG or anything else to create contrast, I feel like you have to go for uniformity or stark contrast - something that's in the middle (like the reddish brown of GA or the tan/yellow of canary) just wouldn't look striking IMO.

 

[Stew]

Given that it's a mahogany body I'd be leaning towards a wenge neck ... tonally in the middle of the spectrum it'd brighten things up without getting too bright.